General Settings

To change the user interface language, click the drop-down menu, choose your preferred language, and click OK.

To add another language to the drop-down menu, do the following:

1. Click Install additional languages. Select your preferred language and click OK.
2. Wait for the new language to install. When complete, click Done.
3. Select the installed language from the drop-down list and click OK.

• Show Avast tray icon - Displays the small Avast icon in your system tray next to the time and date. Click the icon to access shield and update controls, or open the Avast user interface.
• Animate the icon when scanning - Animates the Avast icon when a scan is running so that you vice, or open the SecureLine user interface.
• Automatically open Scan Results when scan is finished - Displays a summary after on-demand scan and scheduled scans complete.
• Enable reputation services - Contribute technical information anonymously to the Avast community such as malware detections and program actions blocked. Your personal information is never included in these contributions.
• Enable CyberCapture - Detects and analyzes rare, suspicious files. If you attempt to run such a file, CyberCapture locks the file from your PC and sends it to the Avast Threat Labs where it's analyzed in a safe, virtual environment. You are notified when the analysis is complete. CyberCapture and the setting Always block suspicious files are enabled by default. We recommend to keep the default settings, unless you are aware of potential risks.
• Enable Hardened mode - Protects novice users who do not understand the risks of opening unknown files. Set on moderate, no files with poor reputation are allowed to run. When set to aggressive, only whitelisted files can be opened.
• Scan for potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) - Notifies you when PUPs are detected on your system and lets you choose what to do with the program.
• Silent/Gaming Mode - Prevents Avast popups, even includes critical alerts, from interrupting full screen applications. This setting is recommended only for short periods while running an application in full screen.

You can enable Avast to alert you with a sound or voice message for certain events.

Check Use voiceover sounds (when available) to play a voice message notification for events, such as when a threat is detected or virus definitions are updated.

Set the length of time Avast popup messages are displayed.

If you don't want to see popup messages of any kind, you can enable Silent/Gaming mode (see Main above).

You can create a password to be required to access the Avast user interface, or certain program settings. Password to the program is not related to the Avast Account password.

To set a password, first check the box Protect Avast with a password then enter the password in the boxes provided. The password cannot be recovered if forgotten.

You can then specify which areas are protected by the password:

• General program access - access to open the user interface
• Program settings - all program settings accessed by clicking Settings from the main menu
• Protection control - to turn on/off the real-time protection shields
• Protection settings - the settings for the real-time protection shields
• Scan control - the controls used to start or stop a scan
• Scan settings - the settings that determine the various scan parameters
• Update control - to update or change update settings for the program and virus definitions
• Virus Chest control - the controls used to work with files in the Virus Chest
• Backup/Restore of Avast settings - for backing up or restoring your Avast settings
• Firewall settings - all settings relating to the firewall

Optimize space on your harddisk by limiting the size of the logs and removing logs which are no longer needed.

• The button Clean scan history deletes all currently stored scan logs.
• If the box Enable debug logging is checked, a special log file is created when an error occurs while the program is running. If requested, you can send this log to the technical support team to help identify the cause of the error.
• Specify the maximum amount of space the Virus Chest uses on your computer, and the maximum size of any file that is sent to the Virus Chest.

You can specify which components are used to determine your protection status on the Overview page.

It is not recommended to alter status monitoring settings, because the displayed status is not accurate when important components are not monitored.

You can exclude certain files, folders or URLs from scanning. Specify whether the exclusion applies to files, URLs, CyberCapture detections, or Hardened mode analysis. This avoids false positive detections for files you know are safe, and speeds up scan time.

• Caution: Exclusions created in the File paths and Urls apply to ALL on-demand scans (manual and scheduled) and ALL real-time shields. To exclude files only from a specific scan or shield, use the Exclusions page in the corresponding settings.
• To exclude a file, first select the appropriate tab and then enter file path or browse for the file location. To exclude a web address select the Urls tab and enter address.

Wildcard characters * and ? can be used here.

Smart scan uses several scanning tools to check your computer for viruses and other issues. Choose which tools to implement for the scan, and click Customize to manage virus scanning parameters.

• Screen saver - When enabled, Avast scans your computer even when your screen saver is running. Click Settings to adjust parameters for this scan.
  
  To enable the screen saver scan, locate the screen saver settings in your Windows control panel and select Avast antivirus.
• Windows Explorer Scan - The option to scan an individual file is available in your right-click context menu. Click Settings to adjust parameters for this scan.

By default, a popup alert appears on the screen when a virus is detected. You can also configure a separate notification. For example, for network administrators to monitor infections on their network.

To create an alert, first select a method from the list:

• Email (SMTP) - The alert is sent as an email using SMTP protocol. SMTP server details are required below.
• Email (MAPI) - The alert is sent as an email using MAPI protocol. MAPI profile name and password are required below.
• Printers - The alert is sent to the specified printer.
• Network Message (WinPopup) - The alert is sent as a network message to the specified IP address or network name.

Select whether or not you want to participate in the Avast community and data sharing. The data collected is anonymized.

Allows you to backup and restore your customized Avast settings such as exclusions and custom scans. This is useful if you need to uninstall and reinstall Avast, or to copy your settings to another computer where Avast is installed.

• Back up settings - To create a backup of your customized Avast settings, go to Settings ▸ General and click Back Up Settings at the bottom. Choose which component settings to save and click Continue. Choose a location to save your back up file, and click Save.
• Restore settings - To restore previously saved settings, go to Settings ▸ General and click Restore Settings at the bottom. Locate the back up file you previously saved and click Open. Then select which saved component settings to restore and click Continue.